Gibraltar to Falmouth, UK

Carl joins Sabbaticus

After a long flight from NZ a friend Carl joined us in Gibraltar to sail up the Atlantic Coast. After a couple of days to acclimatize from the NZ winter, climb The Rock, and settle into Sabbaticus Carl was ready for departure. Fortunately we had a lucky break in the forecast with the Azores High providing a brief gap in the weather for us to head north in calm conditions. The previous 30 days of weather had been depressing to view as there was a constant 25-35kts of N/NE winds (on the nose) up the coast with big swells. This would have been uncomfortable for both crew and Sabbaticus requiring either large tacks of 300-400NM offshore or uncomfortable motoring head into the wind for extended periods. Although not ideal, motoring in relatively calm conditions was considered the lesser of two evils. However, before heading up the coast we had the Bay of Cadiz to cross. 

This is easy ...

Leaving Gibraltar on 2 Jul we initially had a great sail across to Tarifa Pt with gusts to 38kts providing Carl a good chance to see Sabbaticus in her groove and downwind sailing. Unfortunately the wind did not hold and despite a couple of hours with sails up/down we ended up motoring the next 43hrs (215NM) out of the 288NM passage to reach Cascais, Portugal. However, the conditions were ideal for motoring with flat seas and lots of sun. 

After a couple of nights in Cascais we then departed at 0300hrs. Ironically the early start was to ensure no headwind  which also meant departing in heavy fog with visibility reduced to 200-300mtrs around the boat. It was challenging leaving the marina with commercial vessels, fishing boats, channel markers, special marks and unlit fishing buoys to be avoided. Finally the fog cleared at 1300hrs with us then able to relax and resume listening to podcasts on watch to keep us entertained. During Leanne's watch a huge pod of dolphins visited and played for sometime off the bow waves. After a relatively short trip of 38hrs and 215NM we arrived in Bayona, Spain.

We enjoyed several days in Bayona, including walks around the fortress and tapas out at a popular bar before the forecast improved and it was time to depart for La Coruna. This passage was 114 NM and only one night at sea. Unfortunately we arrived in La Caruna at 0100hrs which we learned was rush hour as commercial fishing vessels exited the harbour. This approach was busy avoiding the fishing boats, staying in the channel and lining up the leading lights - providing Carl a good chance to practice his night navigation. After a brief stooge around the marina, we found a vacant berth and had a few welcome drinks onboard before retiring to bed at 0330hrs. Despite planning to stay a few days in La Coruna after seeing the

Carl finally gets the chance to helm in the Bay!

forecast the option was to leave soon or wait 10 days. After much deliberation during the day the decision was made to depart. It was 'action stations' for the next hour getting Sabbaticus ready and within 15hrs of arriving we were on our way to cross the Bay of Biscay with no time to get anxious about the crossing! This passage was 365NM with some excellent sailing conditions. The wind was just off the nose allowing us to sail close hauled the entire way reefed in 25kts with good boat speed making the crossing in about 50hrs! Great sailing at last!
 
Arriving late at night in Brest  we did not realise it was the 'Brest Festival of the Sea' week which is held every four years and meant the marina we had planned to enter was closed. At 2200hrs we motored down to the next marina to find the 1540 berths full and boats rafted up three abreast! Fortunately, after some negotiation with the staff and the usual 'lost in translation mistakes' we were directed to two similar sized boats we could raft up alongside for the night. The next morning the marina was like a zoo with boats moving around, sometimes raised voices and in typical French manner at full throttle. After checking the forecast and seeing no wind for a week or more we decided to leave and motor to the UK (24hrs). This was preferable to being rafted up in an overcrowded marina for an extended period.  

Departing Brest

Getting out of the marina was challenging with boats returning and not observing the rules of the road, necessitating John using the fog horn for the first time to loudly attract French Skipper's attention to make room in the depth constrained channel (believe it or not the regulations do not recommend proceeding down channels three or four abreast spanning the channel). Needless to say not all were impressed to see the Kiwi flagged yacht moving in the opposite direction on the correct side of the channel using a fog horn to make way! Notwithstanding the confusion, congestion and chaos this was a picturesque departure as we motored our way through the Bastille Day celebration fleet out of the harbour.  

Exploring Falmouth Creek's

Luxury - 6hrs off watch!

The crossing to Falmouth, UK was an easy 118NM with flat seas which we motored in 21hrs. After several days in Falmouth Carl then left us to return to NZ while we continue, now in cruising mode, to Ipswich. With Carl onboard our trip from Gib to Falmouth took 13 days, with 1102NM covered with 60% of the passage spent motoring. Having Carl with us allowed 3hr on watch and 6hrs off which gave us more rest between watch's and required less time between each stopover to recover. While we enjoy sailing with just the two of us, having Carl to stand a watch alone made us realise how valuable an experienced person can be and made it easier for us. We may need to rethink our strategy for the future - thanks Carl!
  

View from Marina in Bayona

The picturesque Falmouth Harbour

Sardinia to Gibraltar

After 11 days in Castelsardo it was good to get moving again as time was starting to slow down as we started to relax with no 'task list' to complete. With a favourable forecast we departed for the Balearic Islands. Despite the forecast for 48hrs of wind this two day trip of 230NM saw us motoring for almost half the passage which was frustrating but is typical of Med sailing.  

We dropped anchor in a lovely bay in the port of Mahon on Menorca Island. Mahon is the capital city of Menorca which is built around a beautiful (long) natural harbour with the town built along the clifftops. The military importance of Mahon harbour resulted in the island being fought over by the British, French and Spanish powers as it could protect large fleets in their entirety with the British occupying the island from 1713-1755. The anchorage was about a 10min ride in the RIB which was good way to sightsee around the harbour on our numerous trips into Mahon. As always being at anchor was a social time as we enjoyed meeting sailors from the UK, Canada and Netherlands.

John increasing the gap at La Mola

The anchorage was directly under the impressive La Mola Fortress which covers a vast area (1 sqkm) and was built in 1852. We enjoyed wandering through the fortress which is regarded today as a Spanish masterpiece of military architecture.  Unfortunately the huge technical advances in gun design made the fortress obsolete within 20 yrs as a series of coastal batteries replace the fortress. We made the most of clear water, with daily swims and John diving the boat to clean the hull. The hull dive resulted in another task - replacing a loose anode on the propeller shaft.

 Although we were needed to keep going to get back to the UK this season, it was bittersweet to pull the

Rounding Europa Point into Gibraltar

anchor after 7 days and know we were leaving the Med behind us. The passage to Gibraltar was our longest yet 550NM and four nights at sea, the bonus of this trip was a full moon allowing the night watch's to have significant increase in visibility. While we had good speed for this trip we still ended up motoring 50% of the way - this part of 'Med sailing' we will not miss! We had a short divert into Cartagena for fuel then continued on. While on watch at 0300hrs Leanne was surprised to hear Sabbaticus being hailed. This was the local authorities advising to watch out for 'a rubber boat with immigrants in front of you' this quickly broke the monotony of keeping 'eyes out of the boat', thankfully we never spotted any boats.

We sailed past Europa Point in Gibraltar at 0530hrs and headed straight for the fuel dock. Filling the tanks with 600L at .34p/L made a welcome change to the budget! Coming back to Queensway Marina felt like coming home, given we had spent three months here for winter in 2014. Our celebratory dinner on arrival was a huge steak meal and then a couple of nights later local fish and chips. We have enjoyed various conversations with the locals on the BREXIT vote - given 96% of Gibraltarian's voted to stay in the EU it was a black day when the vote was announced. With no breakages to fix (although a head pump was replaced) the Gib stopover has been relaxing while we passage plan the trip up the Atlantic coast.

Queensway Marina - an easy place for a stopover

Hiking up The Rock and trying to avoid the 'Rock Apes'